In the lumber industry, boards are freshly cut from logs and generally sorted and stacked for drying in a dry atmosphere such as a dry kiln. During the stacking operation elongated wooden slats called "stickers" are placed transversely between layers or courses at spaced intervals along the length of the stack. Usually, the stickers have lengths equal to the width of the stack and are positioned transverse to the boards in the stack. The stickers are placed at desired intervals along the stack to separate the layers and enable drying gases to circulate through the stack to uniformly dry the boards.
Over the years several attempts have been made to provide mechanized sticker placing equipment that is capable of automatically placing stickers between the courses as the stack is being formed.
One of the most commercially successful sticker placing equipment is based on the technology described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,044 granted to the applicant, Sidney L. Lunden, on Sep. 9, 1975. Such equipment is still being commercially used.
The present application is directed to a significant improvement which greatly simplifies the apparatus and increases the sticker placement reliability while reducing its cost of manufacture representing an additional good value for the customer.